NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
BMH named to top hospitals list
is operated by the Blue Mountain Hos-
pital District, which also operates the
Strawberry Wilderness Community
Clinic, Blue Mountain Care Center and
Blue Mountain Home Health and Hos-
pice Agency. The district has about 250
employees.
“I am proud of our entire organization
and am thankful for all of the contributions
of each one of our team members, provid-
ers, volunteers, and board members across
our district that were necessary to make
this happen,” Daly said. “The work that our
team members have accomplished over the
last year during the COVID-19 pandemic
has been amazing to see.”
“Despite unprecedented adversity,
rural providers continue to display resil-
iency and a steadfast commitment to
their communities,” said Michael Top-
chik, national leader of the Chartis Cen-
ter for Rural Health. “Honoring the Top
100 is one of the highpoints of our year.
We are delighted to recognize the excep-
tional performance and innovation of
this year’s recipients, particularly in light
of the extraordinary challenges facing
America’s rural health safety net.”
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Blue Mountain Hospi-
tal has been recognized as one of the best
small rural hospitals in the country.
The John Day facility was named to
the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals
list for 2022, the Blue Mountain Hospi-
tal District announced on Friday, Feb. 18.
The list was compiled by the Char-
tis Center for Rural Health, an indepen-
dent health care advisory fi rm. Hospitals
are evaluated based on the Chartis Rural
Hospital Performance Index, which uses
publicly available data to rate eight met-
rics including quality, market share and
patient perspectives.
Derek Daly, the district’s CEO, said it
was an honor to make the list.
“With over 1,350 Critical Access Hos-
pitals serving rural areas across the coun-
try, it is humbling to be included with this
group of hospitals,” Daly said in a news
release.
Oregon has 25 critical access hospi-
tals, but only three made this year’s Top
100 list, and all are in the northeast cor-
Contributed Photo
Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day.
ner of the state: Blue Mountain, Wal-
lowa Memorial Hospital in Enterprise and
Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande.
The critical access designation was
established by the Center for Medicare
and Medicaid Services as part of a con-
gressional eff ort to shore up the fi nan-
cial health of hospitals in remote rural
areas. In general, it applies to hospitals
with no more than 25 acute care beds that
are at least 35 miles from the next near-
est hospital.
Blue Mountain Hospital is licensed for
25 beds and is currently staff ed for 16. It
Palmer makes pitch for Senate nod
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Merkley fi elds questions
during digital town hall
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley weighed in on the
River Democracy Act of 2021,
his support of a renewal of the
long-term stewardship contract
for the Malheur National For-
est, and Secure Rural Schools
Act funding during an hour-
long digital town hall on Sun-
day, Feb. 20, with Grant County
constituents.
Regarding a bill he is
co-sponsoring in the U.S. Sen-
ate that would give “wild
and scenic” status to an addi-
tional 4,700 miles of rivers and
streams around the state, Merk-
ley said he was not sure how
many miles of streams or trib-
utaries would be impacted in
Grant County.
Merkley said fellow Sen.
Ron Wyden’s team is keep-
ing track of the details of the
maps and how diff erent regions
would be aff ected.
Nonetheless, he said, his
offi ce supports the bill.
Stewardship contract
Bennett Hall/Blue Mountain Eagle
U.S. Senate candidate Sam Palmer speaks at a meeting of the Grant County Republi-
can Central Committee in a John Day restaurant on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
grant, had achieved citizenship several
years ago. “Immigration can be done
legally, folks.”
• Election integrity: Palmer said he
would introduce legislation to tighten up
voting requirements and eliminate vot-
ing by mail in national elections. “Fed-
eral elections will be done in person,
with proper ID and no mail-in ballots.”
(He later clarifi ed that U.S. military per-
sonnel serving overseas and some others
would still be able to vote by mail.)
Palmer also fi elded a wide variety of
questions from the audience.
Asked what made him diff erent from
the other GOP contenders, Palmer made
a veiled reference to Albany’s Jo Rae
Perkins, who lost to U.S. Sen. Jeff Mar-
kley in the 2020 general election, and
talked about some of his accomplish-
ments since being elected as a county
commissioner.
“I have a history of winning,” he said.
“I have a history of working with Repub-
licans and Democrats alike to get things
done.”
Asked about the danger to the U.S.
posed by tensions between Russia and
Ukraine, Palmer turned the discussion
to communism (although Russia has not
been a communist country since 1989)
and illegal immigration.
“My fear is there’s going to be an
attack on our own soil and it’s going to
come through our southern border,” he
said.
Asked if he supports term limits, he
said he did but that he has to be careful
about saying that because it could keep
him from being given committee assign-
ments if he’s elected to the Senate.
“When you take someone like Ron
Wyden,” he added, “who’s been in offi ce
40 years … It’s just time to retire Ron
Wyden. It’s time.”
Palmer railed against the “anarchy”
in Portland, “lawlessness” in the Wil-
lamette Valley, illegal marijuana grows
in Southern Oregon and other problems
happening around the state, and leveled
complaints against Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown and state Senate President Peter
Courtney. That prompted a question
from one audience member about why
he wasn’t running for governor.
“Because I can’t count that high,”
Palmer quipped, a reference to the fact
that 31 people have fi led for that offi ce.
Then he brought the focus back to his
bid to take Wyden’s U.S. Senate seat:
“This is the one that’s open and needs
change.”
WHAT’S HAPPENING
SATURDAY, FEB. 26
Clay Pigeon Shoot
• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., B Bar J Ranch, Highway 402, milepost 9,
Kimberly (follow the signs)
This fundraiser for the second- and third-grade class at Mon-
ument School will feature several shooting events, includ-
ing jackpot and Annie Oak-
ley rounds at $3 each, with
prizes for the winners. From
11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mon-
ument students will be serving
a lunch of pulled pork sand-
wiches, chips, coleslaw and
baked beans. Meals are $8 for
adults or $6 for kids under 10. There will also be a dessert auc-
tion starting at 1 p.m. All proceeds will go to the second- and
third-grade class library, learning materials and end-of-the-year
fi eld trip. For more information, call 541-934-2003.
Bingo night
• 5 p.m., John Day Elks Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St.
Fundraiser for the Grant Union High School Class of 2026
eighth-grade class trip to the coast. Bingo $5 a card. Pizza and
snacks available for purchase. Raffl e draw for a gun safe, smoker
and other prizes. For more information, call 541-390-5790.
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
This third annual benefi t for the nonprofi t youth and family
camp in Logan Valley features a tri-tip dinner, games, live music,
drinks by Spitfi re Cocktails and live, silent and dessert auctions.
Tickets are $25 at the door or $20 in advance, available at several
locations in John Day and Canyon City. For more information,
call Aimee Rude at 541-206-2421.
Do you have a community event in Grant County you’d like to
publicize? Email information to editor@bmeagle.com. The dead-
line is noon Friday for publication the following Wednesday.
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Merkley expanded on a Jan.
20 letter he and Wyden sent to
Glenn Casamassa, U.S. For-
est Service regional forester for
Region 6, throwing their sup-
port behind a renewal of the
long-term stewardship contract
for the Malheur National Forest.
While he believes in the
value of a long-term steward-
ship agreement, Merkley said,
he could also support changing
some terms of the deal to bring
in smaller contractors.
“Should the stewardship
agreement be broken into
smaller pieces so smaller com-
panies could compete for it?”
Merkley said. “I think those
are all absolutely legitimate
(questions).”
He added that the long-term
stewardship agreement “doesn’t
have to be done in exactly the
same way.”
However, Merkley said, the
Malheur National Forest does
need the stability provided by a
long-term stewardship contract
to keep Malheur Lumber, the
county’s lone remaining lumber
mill, operating.
Malheur National For-
est Supervisor Craig Trulock
announced last week that the
U.S. Forest Service would issue
another long-term steward-
ship deal in an open bid pro-
cess starting in November, but
it will also use another contract-
ing mechanism to bring in addi-
tional independent contractors.
Heart of Grant County
Merkley presented the Heart
of Grant County with a com-
memorative fl ag for completing
construction on its new facility
and for serving 37 survivors of
sexual assault and domestic vio-
lence and providing over 1,000
shelter nights to those who had
been impacted.
Heart of Grant County
Board Chair Nancy Nickel said
that roughly 20% to 30% of the
Heart of Grant County’s bud-
get comes from the Violence
Against Women Act, which
has not been reauthorized in the
Senate. Nickel said there was a
similar bipartisan bill that was
passed in the House and asked
Merkley what his sense was on
the chances of getting legisla-
tion through the upper chamber.
Merkley said his hope was
that the money could be put into
an omnibus bill, which, he said,
was a fancy name for taking all
of the spending bills and rolling
them up into one.
“We’re already a good dis-
tance into it,” he said.
Secure Rural Schools
Blue Mountain Forest Part-
ners Executive Director Mark
Webb asked Merkley if there
could be a permanent funding
solution for the Secure Rural
Schools Act.
The Secure Rural Schools
Act funnels federal dollars to
timber-dependent counties in
the West to pay for local ser-
vices, including infrastructure
and fi re prevention programs,
to replace former revenues
from timber sales on federal
lands.
Merkley said the challenge
with SRS is that there’s only a
few states that benefi t from the
program. Additionally, he said,
Oregon benefi ts far more than
any other state.
“So we only have a few states
that have a big stake in it,” he
said.
Merkley said he has tried
to attach it to payment in lieu
of taxes, a federal program
designed to off set property tax
losses in areas with high public
land concentrations. But, he said,
he has had a hard time in getting
a permanent solution because
Oregon gets the lion’s share of
the funding.
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JOHN DAY — Sam Palmer brought
his campaign for the U.S. Senate full cir-
cle last week when he spoke at a meeting
of the Grant County Republican Central
Committee at the Outpost Pizza Pub and
Grill in John Day on Wednesday, Feb.
16.
“I’ve been speaking all over the state,
from Malheur County to Coos County,
and this is the one that hits home —
because it is home,” he said.
About 30 people attended the meet-
ing, which was open to the public.
Palmer, a registered nurse and Grant
County commissioner, is seeking the
GOP nomination to challenge for the
Senate seat currently held by Democrat
Ron Wyden.
He is one of seven candidates running
in the May 17 Republican primary and
the third to make a campaign appearance
in John Day. Darin Harbick and Ibra
Taher spoke at a Jan. 27 meeting of the
Grant County GOP.
“I’m tired of seeing what’s going on
in our state and our nation,” Palmer said,
adding he would uphold the conservative
and Christian values that rural Orego-
nians hold dear.
Palmer touched on a variety of issues
in a short stump speech, including:
• Wildfi res: “I think mismanagement,
misuse and negligence, rather than cli-
mate change, have to do with the fi res
we’ve seen.”
• The River Democracy Act, spon-
sored by Wyden: “It will lock up 3 mil-
lion acres. … This is one of the biggest
land grabs that is happening in the state
in my lifetime, and probably anyone’s
lifetime.”
• Illegal immigration: “We have to
ask why we’re not securing our border.
It’s what keeps us sovereign and free,”
he said, adding that his wife, an immi-
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SATURDAY, APRIL 2
Paint Party “Hydrangeas”
Wednesday, March 2,
1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Creating, Short, Powerful, Poetry
Wednesdays, March 2 - March 23,
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Wool Applique’ Easter Bunny
Pincushion or Mini Wall Hanging
Saturday, March 5,
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Call us: 541-575-1335. Follow us on Facebook
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118 S Washington Street, Canyon City, OR 97820
S279208-1
A MAN
WAKES
UP in the
morning
after sleeping on...
an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas.
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
S282480-1
Lake Creek Youth Camp Gala
• 5 p.m., Trowbridge Pavilion, Grant County Fairgrounds,
411 NW Bridge St., John Day
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710